My Best Buy had one of each size. The Staples next door didn't get any. Called up a couple of stores in nearby towns and it is mostly the same story. Within 60 miles, stores only got half a dozen Surface Pros total. So much for retail presence. On the other hand, there were a large number of people asking about them.

I would be willing to bet there's a trial version of Office 13 on there, plus the restore partition, and probably some other key Microsoft apps (Skype, for example).

A clean install of Windows 8 is well under that mark, so at the very worst, you're looking at ~20GB, which still leaves you with a decent chunk of storage. That, plus a thumb drive and an SD card will give you tons of space for another $100 or so.

No Office trial, no Skype. The Bing/Xbox apps are about it, but those can be uninstalled like any other app. Removing all of them should free up less than 1GB. A clean install will still include those apps. The recovery partition is by far the largest consumer of "optional" storage.

You know this for a fact?

I do now. There is an icon on the Start screen for Office, but all it does is ask about your license. It does NOT come installed.

Also, out of the box, the 64GB version had about 30GB free, not 23GB as previously reported. It looks like the restore partition is ~9GB. If you play it right, you can have about 40+GB of usable space depending on which Bing apps you want to keep.

UPDATE: Thanks to Dr Pizza, I stand corrected. Office is preinstalled. It was hiding, but is very much there. And removable, thankfully.

My 128 had Skype installed. And the office required activation but no additional download (aside from a 500k validator)

Hmm. My 64 had the activation link, but there doesn't seem to be any office content installed (the folder for it is less than 10MB). Also, following about 0.5GB of installs and a couple of system updates, I've lost about 5GB of storage remaining. Disk cleanup doesn't show anything, but I can't seem to track down where that space went.

Anyone have a good source for mini displayport adapters? I'd like one to vga, dvi and for hdmi. Where is a good cheap place to find these? Newegg had some decent prices, but I'm looking to see if there is some super secret cheap place I don't know about.

I would be willing to bet there's a trial version of Office 13 on there, plus the restore partition, and probably some other key Microsoft apps (Skype, for example).

A clean install of Windows 8 is well under that mark, so at the very worst, you're looking at ~20GB, which still leaves you with a decent chunk of storage. That, plus a thumb drive and an SD card will give you tons of space for another $100 or so.

No Office trial, no Skype. The Bing/Xbox apps are about it, but those can be uninstalled like any other app. Removing all of them should free up less than 1GB. A clean install will still include those apps. The recovery partition is by far the largest consumer of "optional" storage.

You know this for a fact?

I do now. There is an icon on the Start screen for Office, but all it does is ask about your license. It does NOT come installed.

Anyone have a good source for mini displayport adapters? I'd like one to vga, dvi and for hdmi. Where is a good cheap place to find these? Newegg had some decent prices, but I'm looking to see if there is some super secret cheap place I don't know about.

I own the mDP> DVI/HDMI/DP. I use it all the time on my Dell XPS 15, works very well with projectors, monitors, and even TVs. I have not tried the VGA adapter, but I can assume it is equally as great (though less versatile).

In that case, I'm still trying to find it so I can get rid of it. Any idea where it's hiding, then?

Edit: Nevermind. Found the little bugger. Hiding in the Program Data folder instead of Program Files. Sneaky sneaky. It only took up 1.6GB on mine, though.

That's because the trial's not for a "real" Office install. It's for an Office 365 subscription, and the content on disk is the local cache for a streamed version of Office.

It is real Office. If you enter a persistent license key it will work forever, near-instantaneously (once it validates the key etc.). It is not merely a "cache". Remove it using the regular Programs and Features control panel.

It's not nearly as loud as the review made it seem. In a quiet room, you'll hear it, but the white noise around my house makes it hard to discern. The chassis does stay fairly warm, though. The difference in weight between the RT and Pro is very noticeable. It isn't unbearable, but unless you are doing something particularly "tablet-y" with it, you probably won't want to hold it up for very long. Not enough time to verify battery claims, but casual use looks to get about 4 hours or so.

Aside form that, it's a pretty nice ultrabook. The CPU is speedy, the GPU is surprisingly not-awful, the SSD is fast, and both the USB 3.0 and SDXC ports offer good transfer rates. The pen seems responsive enough, though the "eraser" button requires a bit more force than I would like. The 1080p display is certainly nice when scaling doesn't rear its ugly head. I still maintain that 1366x768 on the RT isn't the travesty some make it out to be; a day with the Pro hasn't changed that opinion (nice to have but not necessary).

It dawned on me only after I set up a Steam library on my external hard drive that I only had the one USB port. Why are there so few BT gamepads with PC support?

well I think it passed the most important test of all: my wife seems to really enjoy it and we may end up having to get another one for her. Unfortunately we can't get the RT because the pen is one of her favorite parts.

well I think it passed the most important test of all: my wife seems to really enjoy it and we may end up having to get another one for her. Unfortunately we can't get the RT because the pen is one of her favorite parts.

Not just pen but also finger input as well. On a separate note the split keyboard takes a but getting used to but I think I'm going to like it.

++

I've found myself really liking the split keyboard on my RT. It's very good for typing with thumbs while holding the tablet without a table or anything to set it on. I've written some rather long notes that way.

Can anyone attest to the Type Cover basically equating to a netbook keyboard?

I've laid my hands on one long enough to feel that it's a decent keyboard by its own right, but not long enough to determine whether or not it sucks for true long-term typing and ownership.

Recent reviews have put the Pro in a different, better spotlight, where some are getting a solid 5 hours of battery out of it. Now the only thing holding me back from re-considering the Pro is the keyboard... (but the Helix still has most if not all of my attention right now)

Can anyone attest to the Type Cover basically equating to a netbook keyboard?

I've laid my hands on one long enough to feel that it's a decent keyboard by its own right, but not long enough to determine whether or not it sucks for true long-term typing and ownership.

I'd say equating it to a netbook keyboard is close enough. It leaves a bit to be desired, but it's way better for 2+ hours a day than the touch cover. I have one I've been using 2-3 hours a day, five days a week for several months, and it's been sturdy and reliable as well.

Can anyone attest to the Type Cover basically equating to a netbook keyboard?

I've laid my hands on one long enough to feel that it's a decent keyboard by its own right, but not long enough to determine whether or not it sucks for true long-term typing and ownership.

I'd say equating it to a netbook keyboard is close enough. It leaves a bit to be desired, but it's way better for 2+ hours a day than the touch cover. I have one I've been using 2-3 hours a day, five days a week for several months, and it's been sturdy and reliable as well.

Aerrin, thanks for your quick opinion. This is the part where I sigh, shake my head in slight disappointment, and start looking elsewhere. I had high hopes for the Surface Pro, but I guess I cornered myself into thinking that a 10.6" slate would have a fantastic keyboard (or similar laptop-like keyboard) suitable for long periods of typing. After reading more reviews, the Pro looks like it checked pretty much all my boxes (even battery life, after reading other reviews getting anywhere from 4-6 hours of normal web surfing). Unfortunately, I require at least a "full size" laptop style keyboard for long typing sessions. I could make do with the ones found on a 12" notebook, but anything smaller than that and my self-taught rapid typing skills will greatly hinder me (I'm home row with some bad habit twists).

Surface definitely leaned to "tablet with laptop capabilities" over "laptop with tablet features". I'm holding out for next-gen Yogas and the like. I like tablets, but if I'm doing a hybrid device, it needs to be a capable laptop first.

Aerrin, thanks for your quick opinion. This is the part where I sigh, shake my head in slight disappointment, and start looking elsewhere. I had high hopes for the Surface Pro, but I guess I cornered myself into thinking that a 10.6" slate would have a fantastic keyboard (or similar laptop-like keyboard) suitable for long periods of typing. After reading more reviews, the Pro looks like it checked pretty much all my boxes (even battery life, after reading other reviews getting anywhere from 4-6 hours of normal web surfing). Unfortunately, I require at least a "full size" laptop style keyboard for long typing sessions. I could make do with the ones found on a 12" notebook, but anything smaller than that and my self-taught rapid typing skills will greatly hinder me (I'm home row with some bad habit twists).

I understand that everyone has their own set of needs, so I'm not bashing that, but given the dimensions they had to work with in fitting a full keyboard in there, it's not like the size of the keys was a big mystery leading up to release. It is what it is, and it's quite good inside those parameters. I've definitely used worse keyboards on 13" laptops.

Aerrin, thanks for your quick opinion. This is the part where I sigh, shake my head in slight disappointment, and start looking elsewhere. I had high hopes for the Surface Pro, but I guess I cornered myself into thinking that a 10.6" slate would have a fantastic keyboard (or similar laptop-like keyboard) suitable for long periods of typing. After reading more reviews, the Pro looks like it checked pretty much all my boxes (even battery life, after reading other reviews getting anywhere from 4-6 hours of normal web surfing). Unfortunately, I require at least a "full size" laptop style keyboard for long typing sessions. I could make do with the ones found on a 12" notebook, but anything smaller than that and my self-taught rapid typing skills will greatly hinder me (I'm home row with some bad habit twists).

I understand that everyone has their own set of needs, so I'm not bashing that, but given the dimensions they had to work with in fitting a full keyboard in there, it's not like the size of the keys was a big mystery leading up to release. It is what it is, and it's quite good inside those parameters. I've definitely used worse keyboards on 13" laptops.

No, I understand what you mean and you're right. As I mentioned earlier I've played with the Type Cover, and for its size it's a fantastic keyboard. It's just that I was quite keen on the Pro, only to completely forget more recently that it's a 10.6" slate, not a 12.1" ultrabook/laptop.

The sigh and head shake was mostly at myself, in thinking that *any* company out there could make a netbook sized keyboard at least as good as a normal sized keyboard given the limited physical space they have. I should know better than that by now!

* Holy crap, this is heavy.* Pen seems nice. Handwriting recognition worked pretty well, even with the messy chickenscratch that resulted from the way I was holding the thing. Best Buy had the table the thing was sitting on way too low. I want a tablet with a pen now (Apple, are you listening?)* In a Metro app, is it possible to get the soft keyboard (or handwriting recognition) to pop up while a keyboard is attached? I couldn't get it to happen; folding the keyboard around to the back didn't help (although Best Buy had the thing wired to the table, so it couldn't fold all the way back; maybe that was it).* Build quality seemed good. The display unit was fairly warm, but it had just gotten done doing what appeared to be a wipe-and-restore (someone in-store had recently screwed with practically every Windows machine on display; most weren't working at all).* Did I mention it's really heavy? I think the widescreen design doesn't help this (center of gravity is further from your hand when holding it in landscape).

TBH, I'd almost be willing to overlook the battery life and disk space issues if it weren't for the weight-- having proper pen input is that awesome (I'm an avid iPad user, as well as a OneNote user on the desktop). But the weight means that it's not something I'd actually want to carry around and use, unless I had a backpack around for it to live in, and a table for it to sit on-- and then I'd be better off with a real laptop. The weight means the Surface doesn't make a very good tablet, and the keyboard issue means the Surface doesn't make a very good laptop, either.

Maybe Surface v2. If there is a Surface v2. I wouldn't be surprised if, a year from now, Surface 2 is the next Microsoft experiment that they're trying to forget ever happened... this smells like UMPC all over again.

So, an HD 4000-based machine like the Surface Pro is capable of running older or less graphically intense games at lower settings ok-ish, but I haven't seen any benchmarks that would make me consider it a mean gaming machine or anything like that. I probably wouldn't even bother trying modern games at 1920x1080 on it, but I may be spoiled by my i5 2500K/Radeon 7950-based gaming PC. The HD 4000 has come a long way for integrated graphics, to be sure, but it's still not great.

I basically ignore any sort of articles like that and gravitate towards a few big sites that perform comprehensive testing. Without hard numbers, it's just way too subjective to be useful. If I tried gaming with an HD 4000, I'd almost certainly quit in disgust within a minute. If you're coming from something like an old GMA 950, you might describe the experience much more positively.

Can anyone attest to the Type Cover basically equating to a netbook keyboard?

I've laid my hands on one long enough to feel that it's a decent keyboard by its own right, but not long enough to determine whether or not it sucks for true long-term typing and ownership.

Recent reviews have put the Pro in a different, better spotlight, where some are getting a solid 5 hours of battery out of it. Now the only thing holding me back from re-considering the Pro is the keyboard... (but the Helix still has most if not all of my attention right now)

I've been using the Type Cover since I got my Surface RT back in early November. It remains a fairly comfortable typing experience; not ideal, but absolutely acceptable. The netbook comparison is appropriate. Due to the 10.6" footprint, the keys are quite close together. In practice, the larger keys make up for it. Typing speed and accuracy is only marginally slower than on a full sized keyboard. I'm not fond of the Fn Key being solely on the right hand side of the Space Bar, but I'm getting used to it. It's certainly leaps and bounds better than using an onscreen keyboard and much more convenient that toting a wireless one. If you really are concerned about the keyboard, you can always connect one via USB or Bluetooth.

Something I've only had reason to notice on the Surface Pro is the simultaneous key limit. I tried using the Type Cover to test out the classic Doom, but the key limit proved too restrictive. When I moved to Oblivion, I found that using the trackpad counts as a key press. You cannot look around and walk at the same time. These are special cases, though, and may not ever apply to your usage case.

It's heavier than the tablets we've come to know, but it is still lighter than the Ultrabooks it is actually competing against.

Quote:

*In a Metro app, is it possible to get the soft keyboard (or handwriting recognition) to pop up while a keyboard is attached? I couldn't get it to happen; folding the keyboard around to the back didn't help (although Best Buy had the thing wired to the table, so it couldn't fold all the way back; maybe that was it).

As far as I know, the onscreen keyboard is disabled in Modern UI when the keyboard is connected, but folding the cover back should have brought it back. On both my Pro and RT, that is how it works.

Quote:

* Build quality seemed good. The display unit was fairly warm, but it had just gotten done doing what appeared to be a wipe-and-restore (someone in-store had recently screwed with practically every Windows machine on display; most weren't working at all).

My Pro stays warm, too, even when sitting idle. On the one hand, it's not hot and it is consistent. On the other, it remains something you notice when holding it for a while. Contrary to some reviews, though, I haven't heard much from the fan aside from a faint whir.

Quote:

TBH, I'd almost be willing to overlook the battery life and disk space issues if it weren't for the weight (...) and then I'd be better off with a real laptop. The weight means the Surface doesn't make a very good tablet, and the keyboard issue means the Surface doesn't make a very good laptop, either.

Perhaps my senses are tempered from using WinXP tablet PCs from yesteryear (4.5lbs!), but I don't see how the extra 0.5 lbs over an iPad is the dealbreaker. Coming from an iPad, you will, for certain, notice the additional weight; 2lbs isn't excessive, though. Not sure what you mean by "keyboard issue" though.

That said, I don't disagree about Surface Pro 2 or whatever it's called. Haswell alone should boost performance, battery life, and probably allow for a cooler (less warm, that is) and thinner chassis.

You have to temper those results against the CPU itself, though. The i7-3770K (second link) is a much faster CPU with higher thermal thresholds. Anandtech has a writeup on an ultrabook-specific CPU: http://www.anandtech.com/show/5872/inte ... k-review/5. I didn't feel like searching around too much, but I think they have an updated article with newer drivers somewhere.